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Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census

Census subdivision of Waterloo, CY - Ontario

Map of Waterloo, CY

Interactive version of map

Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Chart A description: Waterloo, CY - Population, 2011 and 2006 censuses

Prov. rank

Nat. rank

In 2011, Waterloo (City) had a population of 98,780, representing a percentage change of 1.3% from 2006. This compares to the national average growth of 5.9%.

Land area is 64.02 square kilometres with a population density of 1,542.9 persons per square kilometre. This compares to the provincial land area of 908,607.67 square kilometres with a population density of 14.1 persons per square kilometre.

In 2011, Waterloo (City) had 37,517 private dwellings occupied by usual residents. The change in private dwellings occupied by usual residents from 2006 was 2.0%. For Canada as a whole, the number of private dwellings occupied by usual residents increased 7.1%.

Waterloo (City) is part of the census metropolitan area of Kitchener - Cambridge - Waterloo (Ontario).

Population and dwelling counts

Waterloo (City) – Neighbouring census subdivisions

Table 1 Waterloo (City) – Neighbouring census subdivisions, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	Population
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	2011	2006	% change
Kitchener, Ont.	CY	219,153	204,668	7.1
Wilmot, Ont.	TP	19,223	17,097	12.4
Wellesley, Ont.	TP	10,713	9,789	9.4
Woolwich, Ont.	TP	23,145	19,658	17.7

Ontario – Census subdivisions with 5,000-plus population with the highest population growth

Table 2 Ontario – Census subdivisions with 5,000-plus population with the highest population growth, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	Population
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	2011	2006	% change
Milton	T	84,362	53,889 A	56.5
Whitchurch-Stouffville	T	37,628	24,390	54.3
Ajax	T	109,600	90,167	21.6
Brampton	CY	523,911	433,806	20.8
Vaughan	CY	288,301	238,866	20.7

Ontario – Census subdivisions with 5,000-plus population with the lowest population growth

Table 3 Ontario – Census subdivisions with 5,000-plus population with the lowest population growth, population change, 2006 to 2011
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	Population
Census subdivision (CSD) name	CSD type	2011	2006	% change
Thunder Bay, Unorganized	NO	5,909	6,585	-10.3
Hearst	T	5,090	5,620	-9.4
Dryden	CY	7,617	8,195	-7.1
The Blue Mountains	T	6,453	6,825	-5.5

Age and sex

Waterloo, CY – Age distribution

Chart C: Waterloo, CY - Population by broad age groups

Chart C description: Waterloo, CY - Population by broad age groups

Table 4 Waterloo, CY – Age distributions by broad age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
0 to 14	17.0%	17.5%	16.5%
15 to 64	70.4%	71.3%	69.6%
65 and over	12.6%	11.2%	14.0%

In 2011, the percentage of the population aged 65 and over in Waterloo, CY was 12.6%, compared with a national percentage of 14.8%. The percentage of the working age population (15 to 64) was 70.4% and the percentage of children aged 0 to 14 was 17.0%. In comparison, the national percentages were 68.5% for the population aged 15 to 64 and 16.7% for the population aged 0 to 14.

Waterloo, CY – Population by broad age groups and sex

Table 5 Waterloo, CY – Population by broad age groups, sex and population change between 2006 and 2011, 2006 to 2011 censuses
Broad age groups by sex	Population
Broad age groups by sex	2011	2006	change	% change
Both sexes
Total	98,780	97,475	1,305	1.3
0 to 14	16,775	17,805	-1,030	-5.8
15 to 64	69,580	68,795	785	1.1
65 and over	12,420	10,875	1,545	14.2
Males
Total	48,870	48,095	775	1.6
0 to 14	8,560	9,000	-440	-4.9
15 to 64	34,860	34,405	455	1.3
65 and over	5,455	4,680	775	16.6
Females
Total	49,910	49,380	530	1.1
0 to 14	8,220	8,800	-580	-6.6
15 to 64	34,720	34,390	330	1.0
65 and over	6,965	6,190	775	12.5

Waterloo, CY – Population by five-year age groups and sex

Chart D description: Waterloo, CY - Population by five-year age groups and sex

Table 6 Waterloo, CY – Population by five-year age groups and sex, 2011 Census
Age groups	Both sexes	Males	Females
Total - Age groups	98,780	48,870	49,910
0 to 4 years	4,985	2,550	2,435
5 to 9 years	5,765	2,915	2,845
10 to 14 years	6,025	3,090	2,940
15 to 19 years	7,225	3,725	3,500
20 to 24 years	9,465	5,145	4,320
25 to 29 years	6,750	3,585	3,175
30 to 34 years	6,000	3,045	2,955
35 to 39 years	6,410	3,105	3,305
40 to 44 years	7,300	3,505	3,795
45 to 49 years	7,915	3,835	4,075
50 to 54 years	7,420	3,610	3,815
55 to 59 years	6,100	2,930	3,170
60 to 64 years	4,990	2,375	2,615
65 to 69 years	3,640	1,720	1,915
70 to 74 years	2,800	1,325	1,475
75 to 79 years	2,340	1,060	1,275
80 to 84 years	1,895	785	1,110
85 years and over	1,750	560	1,185
Median age	37.6	35.7	39.3

Waterloo, CY – Median age¹ of the population

Chart E: Canada, Ontario and Waterloo, CY - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

Chart E description: Canada, Ontario and Waterloo, CY - Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses

In 2011, the median age in Waterloo, CY was 37.6 years. In comparison, the median age of Ontario was 40.4 years.

Table 7 Canada, Ontario and Waterloo, CY – Median age, 2006 and 2011 censuses
	Median age
	2006	2011
Canada	39.5	40.6
Ontario	39.0	40.4
Waterloo, CY	35.4	37.6

Families and households

In 2011, the number of census families² in Waterloo was 26,775, which represents a change of 0.9% from 2006. This compares to a growth rate for Canada of 5.5% over the same period.

In Waterloo, 77.9% of census families were married couples in 2011, while 9.4% were common-law-couples and 12.8% were lone-parent families.

Chart F: Waterloo - Census families by family structure

Chart F description: Waterloo - Census families by family structure

Waterloo – Family structure

Table 8 Canada, Ontario, CSD of Waterloo, CY and neighbouring census subdivisions – Distribution of census families by family structure, 2011 Census
Geographic name	Total families	Married-couple families		Common-law-couple families		Lone-parent families		% change, census families, 2006 to 2011
Geographic name	Total families	number	%	number	%	number	%	% change, census families, 2006 to 2011
Canada †	9,389,695	6,293,950	67.0	1,567,905	16.7	1,527,840	16.3	5.5
Ontario †	3,612,205	2,612,890	72.3	394,670	10.9	604,645	16.7	5.5
Waterloo, CY	26,775	20,845	77.9	2,505	9.4	3,430	12.8	0.9
Kitchener, CY	61,255	42,655	69.6	8,025	13.1	10,575	17.3	7.3
Wilmot, TP	5,775	4,795	83.0	475	8.2	505	8.7	14.0
Wellesley, TP	2,765	2,450	88.6	150	5.4	170	6.1	12.4
Woolwich, TP	6,570	5,495	83.6	510	7.8	565	8.6	19.0

Waterloo – Presence of children within couple families

Among couples (married and common-law) in the census subdivision of Waterloo, 53.1% were couples with children aged 24 and under at home. In comparison, as a whole, 46.9% of couples in Canada had children aged 24 and under at home.

Presence of children within couple families
* Children aged 24 and under at home
Married couples with children *	11,610
Married couples without children *	9,235
Common-law-couples with children *	780
Common-law-couples without children *	1,715

Waterloo – Marital status

Chart H description: Waterloo - Marital status

In Waterloo, 58.3% of the total population aged 15 and over were either married (52.2%) or living with a common-law partner (6.1%).

The remaining 41.7% were not married and not living with a common-law partner, including those who were single (never-married), separated, divorced or widowed.

Note: Percentages may not total 100 percent due to random rounding.

Table 9 Canada, Ontario, Waterloo, CY – Population 15 years and older by marital status, 2011 Census
Marital status	Waterloo, CY		Ontario		Canada
Marital status	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Population 15 years and over	82,005	100.0	10,671,050	100.0	27,869,345	100.0
Married or living with a common-law partner	47,835	58.3	6,158,605	57.7	16,084,490	57.7
Married (and not separated)	42,805	52.2	5,367,400	50.3	12,941,965	46.4
Living common-law	5,030	6.1	791,210	7.4	3,142,525	11.3
Not married and not living with a common-law partner	34,165	41.7	4,512,440	42.3	11,784,855	42.3
Single (never legally married)	24,900	30.4	2,985,020	28.0	7,816,045	28.0
Separated	1,855	2.3	319,805	3.0	698,245	2.5
Divorced	3,560	4.3	593,730	5.6	1,686,035	6.0
Widowed	3,855	4.7	613,880	5.8	1,584,525	5.7

Waterloo – Types of private households

There were 37,520 private households³ in Waterloo in 2011, a change of 2.0% from 2006. Of these, 32.2% of households were comprised of couples with children aged 24 and under at home, a change of -1.7% compared with five years earlier.

Table 10 Canada, Ontario, Waterloo, CY – Distribution of households by household type, 2011 Census
Household type⁴	Waterloo, CY		Ontario		Canada
Household type⁴	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total private households	37,520	100.0	4,887,505	100.0	13,320,615	100.0
Couple-family households with children aged 24 and under at home⁵	12,100	32.2	1,402,420	28.7	3,524,915	26.5
Couple-family households without children aged 24 and under at home⁶	10,450	27.9	1,408,120	28.8	3,935,540	29.5
Lone-parent family households⁷	3,200	8.5	535,825	11.0	1,375,450	10.3
One-person households	8,955	23.9	1,230,980	25.2	3,673,310	27.6
Multiple family households⁸	505	1.3	128,660	2.6	268,060	2.0
Other households⁹	2,305	6.1	181,500	3.7	543,340	4.1

Waterloo – Structural type of dwelling

In Waterloo, 57.9% of private households lived in single-detached houses and 10.7% lived in apartments in buildings that have five or more storeys. The rest lived in other types of dwelling structures.

Table 11 Canada, Ontario, Waterloo, CY – Distribution of private households by structural type of dwelling, 2011 Census
Structural type of dwelling	Waterloo, CY		Ontario		Canada
Structural type of dwelling	number	%	number	%	number	%
Total - Structural type of dwelling	37,515	100.0	4,887,510	100.0	13,320,615	100.0
Single-detached house	21,720	57.9	2,718,880	55.6	7,329,150	55.0
Semi-detached house	1,965	5.2	279,470	5.7	646,240	4.9
Row house	4,555	12.1	415,230	8.5	791,600	5.9
Apartment, building that has five or more storeys	4,025	10.7	789,975	16.2	1,234,770	9.3
Apartment, building that has fewer than five storeys	4,195	11.2	498,160	10.2	2,397,555	18.0
Apartment, duplex	870	2.3	160,460	3.3	704,485	5.3
Other single-attached house¹⁰	20	0.1	9,535	0.2	33,310	0.3
Movable dwelling¹¹	170	0.5	15,795	0.3	183,510	1.4

Language

Waterloo, CY – Mother tongue

Chart J description: Waterloo, CY - Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home

Note: Counts for mother tongue as well as those for language spoken most often at home include single responses only.

In Waterloo, 72.9% of the population reported English only as mother tongue, 1.1% reported French only, and 24.4% reported a non-official language only, in 2011. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 68.2% for English only, 3.9% for French only and 25.7% for only non-official languages.

In 2011, 83.8% of the population spoke only English most often at home, 0.4% spoke only French and 12.6% spoke only a non-official language. In comparison, the provincial / territorial percentages were 79.0% for only English, 2.2% for only French and 14.4% for only a non-official language.

Table 12 Waterloo, CY – Mother tongue and language spoken most often at home, 2011 Census
Selected languages	Mother tongue		Language spoken most often at home
Selected languages	number	%	number	%
Total	97,980	100.0	97,980	100.0
English	71,425	72.9	82,100	83.8
French	1,065	1.1	365	0.4
Non-official language	23,915	24.4	12,325	12.6
Multiple responses	1,575	1.6	3,185	3.3

Table 13 Waterloo, CY – Mother-tongue retention, 2011 Census
Mother tongue	Mother-tongue retention¹² (in percentage)
Mother tongue	Total retention; language spoken at home at least on a regular basis	Complete retention; language spoken most often at home	Partial retention; language spoken at home on a regular basis
Note: Counts for mother tongue and home language include single response of a language as well as multiple responses of a language with English and/or French.
English	99.7	99.3	0.4
French	57.6	30.6	27.0
Non-official language	79.2	56.8	22.4

Waterloo, CY – Non-official languages

In Waterloo, the three most common mother tongues were German (2.9%), Chinese, n.o.s. (2.8%) and Mandarin (2.0%), in 2011. In comparison, the most common mother tongues at the provincial / territorial level were Italian (2.1%), Chinese, n.o.s. (1.6%) and Cantonese (1.5%).

Table 14 Waterloo, CY – The most common non-official-language mother tongues, 2011 Census
Mother tongue	Number	Percentage of non-official language mother-tongue population	Percentage of total population
Note: Counts for mother tongue and home language include single response of a language as well as multiple responses of a language with English and/or French.
German	2,885	11.4	2.9
Chinese, n.o.s.	2,735	10.8	2.8
Mandarin	1,945	7.7	2.0
Arabic	1,360	5.4	1.4
Spanish	1,180	4.7	1.2

Waterloo, CY – Bilingualism

Table 15 Waterloo, CY – Rate of English-French bilingualism by mother tongue and age groups, 2011 Census
Age groups	Mother tongue
Age groups	Total	English	French	Non-official language
Note: Counts for mother tongue include single responses only. Consequently, the total excludes multiple responses.
Total	8.7	8.1	90.1	6.7
0 to 19	11.5	10.7	81.5	12.9
20 to 44	9.9	10.0	94.4	6.4
45 to 64	6.4	5.2	92.2	5.0
65 and over	4.4	3.1	80.0	3.7

Table 16 Waterloo, CY – Knowledge of official languages, 2011 Census
Knowledge of official languages	Number	Percentage
Total	97,980	100.0
English only	87,915	89.7
French only	45	0.0
English and French	8,735	8.9
Neither English nor French	1,285	1.3

Symbols:

···: not applicable
†: excludes census data for one or more incompletely enumerated Indian reserves or Indian settlements. For further information, refer to Notes.
¶: incompletely enumerated Indian reserve or Indian settlement. For further information, refer to Notes.
A: adjusted figure due to boundary change. For further information, refer to Content considerations.
E: use with caution. For further information, refer to Cautionary note.

Footnotes

Footnote 1

Median age: Age 'x' that divides a population in two groups of the same population size, one group being older than age 'x' and the other group being younger than age 'x'.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

Census family: Refers to a married couple (with or without children), a common-law couple (with or without children) or a lone parent family.

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Footnote 3

Household, private: Refers to a person or a group of persons (other than foreign residents) who occupy a private dwelling and do not have a usual place of residence elsewhere in Canada.

Return to footnote 3 referrer

Footnote 4

Household type: Refers to the basic division of private households into family and non-family households. Family household refers to a household that contains at least one census family, that is, a married couple with or without children, or a couple living in common-law with or without children or a lone parent living with one or more children.

Return to footnote 4 referrer

Footnote 5

Couple-family households with children: Refers to couple households with at least one child aged 24 and under.

Return to footnote 5 referrer

Footnote 6

Couple-family households without children: Refers to couple households without children aged 24 and under. Includes couple households with all children aged 25 and over.

Return to footnote 6 referrer

Footnote 7

Lone-parent-family households: Refers to all lone-parent family households regardless of age of children.

Return to footnote 7 referrer

Footnote 8

Multiple-family households: Refers to a household in which two or more census families (with or without additional persons) occupy the same private dwelling.

Return to footnote 8 referrer

Footnote 9

Other households: Refers to two or more people who share a private dwelling, but who do not constitute a census family.

Return to footnote 9 referrer

Footnote 10

Other single-attached house: A single dwelling that is attached to another building and that does not fall into any of the other categories, such as a single dwelling attached to a non-residential structure (e.g., a store or a church) or occasionally to another residential structure (e.g., an apartment building).

Return to footnote 10 referrer

Footnote 11

Movable dwelling includes mobile homes and other movable dwellings such as houseboats and railroad cars.

Return to footnote 11 referrer

Footnote 12

Mother-tongue retention: Retention refers to the situation where people speak their mother tongue at home. Retention is defined as 'complete' when the mother tongue is the language spoken most often and 'partial' when it is spoken on a regular basis but not most often. The (complete or partial) retention rate refers to the proportion of the population with a given mother tongue that speaks that language at home most often or on a regular basis. The retention rate provides an indication of a group's linguistic vitality, particularly the importance of transmitting languages between generations.

Return to footnote 12 referrer

Source:

Statistics Canada. 2012. Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-310-XWE2011004. Ottawa, Ontario. Analytical products, 2011 Census. Last updated October 24, 2012.

Related data:

2011 Census Topic-based tabulations – Census subdivision of Waterloo, City - Ontario
2011 Census Highlight tables – Census subdivision of Waterloo, City - Ontario
2011 Census Data Navigator – Census subdivision of Waterloo, City - Ontario
2011 NHS Focus on Geography Series – Census subdivision of Waterloo, City - Ontario

Date modified:: 2019-03-27

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Focus on Geography Series, 2011 Census